Spike Lee Plugs Red Hook Summer Release, Mike Tyson, and Bad 25

This year Spike Lee is a threat at the box office, Broadway, and with a new Mike Jack doc coming soon.

Last night at the Apple Store in SoHo, Spike Lee was kind enough to give a small group of viewers some exclusive looks at his new movie Red Hook Summer, as well as his upcoming documentary Bad 25, and info about his new Broadway play with boxer Mike Tyson.

The visuals for Red Hook Summer made the film look very promising. With Clarke Peters (Lester Freamon from The Wire) as the leading actor, the film follows a teenager from Atlanta that moves in with his deeply religious grandfather. The movie seems to be another heart-felt story and what Spike Lee described as another “chronicle of Brooklyn,” adding to his collection that includes Do The Right Thing, Crooklyn, Clockers and more. He announced that “Hollywood’s not making this film; were making this film,” as he stressed the fact that Red Hook Summer is self-financed and an independent venture. He continued with the film’s ultimate goal, “to show different elements of African-American community at this time, including gentrification.” He challenged New Yorkers to “set the tone for the rest of the world” when the film is shown in NYC only from August 10th-12th. It will be shown at Landmark Sunshine Cinema, AMC Magic Johnson Harlem 9, AMC Empire 25, and BAM Rose Cinemas in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

After explaining his process and inspiration for RHS, Spike asked the audience to recite a specific lyric from The Throne’s hit, “N***as In Paris.” “Psycho, I’m liable to go Michael. Take your pick: Jackson, Tyson, Jordan—Game 6.” After which he announced he should be in the Guinness Book of World Records for being “the only man in the world that directed all three of them.” Spike was referring to his recently announced upcoming Bad 25 documentary, focused on the making of the original Michael Jackson album for its 25th anniversary. He showed the crowd a never seen before trailer for the doc, which will be composed of stock footage from the complete Micheal Jackson archives including rehearsals and studio sessions. It also has exclusive interviews from musical legends from the past and the present like Kanye West, ?uestlove, Siedah Garrett, and others. Spike promised “It will be the number one Christmas present,” but stated, “were still working out where it is going to be seen. Whether in the theaters, TV and cable, but it’s definitely going to be on DVD.”

If you thought directing a featured film and a documentary wasn’t enough, Spike is actually taking his talents to Broadway too. Referring back to The Throne’s lyric, Lee announced he is also working with Mike Tyson on a one-man show that will run six times between from July 31st until August 5th. The press release for “Mike Tyson: The Undisputed Truth,” summarized the boxer’s performance, “about me being on stage and being pretty raw. Not necessarily raw in a vulgar sense—I’m just naked and vulnerable, and I’m just telling you who I am and where I’m from and how this happened, and how I lose all this damn money, and how I had all these children and how I go to prison.”

Make sure to keep up with Spike’s releases in the future. Bad 25 has no official release date as of yet, but you can start by heading to Longacre Theatre on Broadway, starting July 31st for “Mike Tyson: The Undisputed Truth.” As for Red Hook Summer, it’s in select theaters August 10th only in NYC.